Micronutrients, Bone Density, and Hashimoto’s

Osteoporosis is more common in women with Hashimoto’s and thyroid conditions, who take thyroid medications, as thyroid hormones speed up bone turnover.

In pharmacy school, I learned that osteoporosis was a progressive condition that could be slowed down, but never really reversed. I held this belief until I met Mira and Dr. Jayson Calton. They are both nutritionists and micronutrient specialists. They shared that nutrient depletions were at the root cause of osteoporosis, and more importantly, that osteoporosis could be reversed with proper nutrition! I recorded this video interview with Mira and Dr. Jayson on this topic.

Mira was only 30 years old when she was diagnosed with advanced osteoporosis. Her husband, Dr. Jayson, designed a food and micronutrient protocol for her that completely reversed her osteoporosis in two years (she has bone scans to prove it!). Since that time, the Calton’s have helped hundreds of people reverse osteoporosis as well as numerous other conditions related to micronutrient deficiencies.

I have found that nutrient depletions are always a factor in Hashimoto’s (deficiencies in selenium, ferritin, B vitamins, and vitamin D are the most common), and addressing these nutrient depletions can make a HUGE difference in symptoms. Ferritin and the B’s (especially B12 and thiamine) are game changers for fatigue, while vitamin D and selenium can make a big difference in mood and reducing thyroid antibodies. (Check out my past articles on selenium, ferritin, B12, thiamine, and vitamin D.)

Often, people with Hashimoto’s are sensitive to gluten and dairy. I’ve observed this in myself and in working with hundreds of people with Hashimoto’s. In my survey of over 2000 people with Hashimoto’s, 76 percent reported a sensitivity to gluten, and 88 percent said they felt better when they went gluten-free, while 79 percent felt better dairy-free.

When we eat foods we’re sensitive to, it can cause inflammation and prevents us from properly absorbing nutrients from food. (10) Once people eliminate gluten and dairy, they begin to absorb more nutrients and will begin to feel better. But sometimes, people will plateau and hit a roadblock of feeling worse, and this could be due to micronutrient deficiencies.

Unfortunately, while gluten-free diets and Paleo diets are much more nutrient dense compared to the standard American diet, they can also be missing the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of some important nutrients. Additionally, the nutrients that may be missing in these diets are going to be different than the “usual suspects” that are depleted in the Standard American Diet (or the SAD diet, as I like to call it…)

For me, I became deficient in thiamine after a year of a gluten/dairy-free diet, and learned of this only after having a $500 nutrient test (the Spectracell test may be helpful if you can afford it).

I couldn’t figure out why I became fatigued again, and why my adrenals were bottoming out after seemingly feeling better. Taking a thiamine supplement turned my fatigue around within a few days, and normalized my long-standing low blood pressure. Had I consulted with Mira and Jayson Calton, they would have told me that thiamine (B1) is one of the most commonly depleted nutrients in gluten-free and dairy-free diets!

This is why I’m super excited about the Calton’s new book, The Micronutrient Miracle, which shares their years of research and knowledge. This book is the ultimate guide for figuring out which nutrients you may be lacking based on your symptoms, health conditions and current diet (they have assessments and charts to guide you without the need for expensive testing), as well as food and micronutrient protocols to help replenish nutrients, tailored to you.

While some nutrition books have a one-size-fits-all approach, the Calton’s nutrition guidelines were modified for specific conditions, including osteoporosis. There was also a general protocol for autoimmunity and a specific micronutrient protocol for Hashimoto’s (I was a reviewer of the section on Hashimoto’s to make sure the dietary recommendations were consistent with my recommendations for Hashimoto’s).

This way, nutrient-dense food becomes more affordable and accessible!

Grab your copy of The Micronutrient Miracle.

Wishing you all the best on your thyroid journey!

To learn more about addressing nutrient depletions, download my free Digestion & Depletions chapter from my first book, below!

P.S. Be sure to sign up to my email list to get a free book chapter, recipes, Thyroid Diet start guide and notifications about upcoming events and my weekly newsletter. For more updates, be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram too!

References

1. Tárraga López PJ, López CF, de Mora FN, et al. Osteoporosis in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism treated with thyroid hormone. Clin Cases Miner Bone Metab. 2011;8(3):44-48.
2. Williams GR. Actions of thyroid hormones in bone. Endokrynol Pol. 2009;60(5):380-388.
3. Hu S, Rayman MP. Multiple Nutritional Factors and the Risk of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Thyroid. 2017;27(5):597-610. doi:10.1089/thy.2016.0635
4. Collins AB, Pawlak R. Prevalence of vitamin B-12 deficiency among patients with thyroid dysfunction. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2016;25(2):221-226. doi:10.6133/apjcn.2016.25.2.22
5. Gärtner R, Gasnier BC, Dietrich JW, Krebs B, Angstwurm MW. Selenium supplementation in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis decreases thyroid peroxidase antibodies concentrations. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002;87(4):1687-1691. doi:10.1210/jcem.87.4.8421
6. Vaucher P, Druais PL, Waldvogel S, Favrat B. Effect of iron supplementation on fatigue in nonanemic menstruating women with low ferritin: a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ. 2012;184(11):1247-1254. doi:10.1503/cmaj.110950
7. Heap LC, Peters TJ, Wessely S. Vitamin B status in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. J R Soc Med. 1999;92(4):183-185. doi:10.1177/014107689909200405
8. Chaudhary S, Dutta D, Kumar M, et al. Vitamin D supplementation reduces thyroid peroxidase antibody levels in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease: An open-labeled randomized controlled trial. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2016;20(3):391-398. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.179997
9. Wichman J, Winther KH, Bonnema SJ, Hegedüs L. Selenium Supplementation Significantly Reduces Thyroid Autoantibody Levels in Patients with Chronic Autoimmune Thyroiditis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Thyroid. 2016;26(12):1681-1692. doi:10.1089/thy.2016.0256
10. Tuck CJ, Biesiekierski JR, Schmid-Grendelmeier P, Pohl D. Food Intolerances. Nutrients. 2019;11(7):1684. Published 2019 Jul 22. doi:10.3390/nu11071684